Background & General Characteristics

A multiplicity of media voices can be found in Nigeria largely because
of the diversity of the population of the country and the history
preceding its independence. The nation remains unsettled and its
constitution is not enforced in all regions equally. This has led to
confusion, frustration, and violence resulting in numerous deaths in the
late 1990s and early 2000s. Reports of deaths from Islamic
fundamentalists are commonplace in media reports particularly in the
northern states of Nigeria.

The British reporter Flora Shaw coined the term "Nigeria"
which was to become the name of the country. In the 1890s she took the
term from the Niger River to apply it to the region during the era of
colonial rule.

Like other segments of society, media reflects the population of the
people. Nigeria has over 250 different ethnic groups. It is nearly twice
the size of California, and with a population of approximately 110
million, is the most densely populated country in Africa. Other
estimates have the population even higher. One source reports that
because tribalism is so sensitive an issue population estimates based on
pre-independence data are intentionally inexact so as not to ignite
controversy. Hundreds of thousands of Nigerians live in the United
States, and nearly 200,000 of them have attained U.S. citizenship.
English is the official language of Nigeria. Broadcast stations and
print media provide content to audiences in English. Other dominant
languages spoken are Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo, and Fulani. Hausa and Fulani
are primarily in the north. Yoruba is in the southwest, while Ibos are
located in the southeast.

The country has had varying degrees of freedom of the press over its
tumultuous history. There has generally been a diversity of voices in
the media; however, as the government changed hands frequently and in
violent circumstances, the media voices that were in support of a leader
would find themselves without a voice as a replacement emerged. At some
points, newspapers and magazines were proscribed entirely due to their
criticism of government authorities.

Examples of this form of silencing the press are found in the late 1970s
and mid 1980s. Although newspapers and magazines were privately owned,
the government prohibited them from expressing their editorial opinions.
In 1977
Newbreed
was closed down. In 1984 the government closed down the
Tribune
and four years later in 1988
Newswatch
was a victim of government censorship. Also during this time period,
government leaders harassed individual journalists. In 1971 Minere
Amakiri, a reporter for the
Nigerian Observer
, was detained and had his hair shaved. Numerous other journalists
experienced similar assaults.

The cause of violence in the country is sometimes difficult to determine
because ethnic and religious differences both enter the mix. The largest
religious group is Muslim, making up about 50 percent of the population.
Christians account for about 40 percent, while the remaining 10 percent
of the people follow traditional beliefs or some combination of the two
major groups.

Rivalries between various ethnic groups within Nigeria can be traced
back for as far as these groups have existed. Tensions flare for a
period, then a temporary peace follows. During the waning days of the
colonial period these ancestral rivalries played a role in the
country's evolution to independence. In January 1956, Queen
Elizabeth II visited Nigeria for a ceremonial tour, which was in part a
reaction to anti-colonialism that had taken place in other African
nations such as the Mau-Mau uprising in Kenya. The concern in the United
Kingdom was that Moslems in northern Nigeria would stir passions of
revolt. Two years earlier Nigeria had been granted a degree of autonomy
with the aim of solidifying British loyalty, according to a report in
the
Chronicle of the twentieth Century
.

The internal conflict has taken its toll on life expectancy. The nation
has the 15th highest infant mortality rate in the world, 87 deaths per
1,000 live births. Life expectancy in Nigeria is 56 years, compared to
76 years in the United States. Steps are being taken to improve the
plight of the Nigerian people, however. The United States has initiated
a series of actions to help provide some stability to the emerging
democracy. In 2000 a $19.9 million agreement was signed by USAID to
assist Nigeria in reforming its educational policies. The goal was to
encourage civic participation on a broad basis. Under the plan six
Community Resource Centers would be built that would provide increased
Internet access to every region of the nation. The U.S. Education for
Development and Democracy Initiative (EDDI) provided $4.5 million to
establish the centers. Local educators would receive training at the
centers, which would also be used to support distance education to
Nigerian universities, provide computer, and targeted vocational
educational training to local communities, and support adult literacy
and AIDS education. An additional part of the initiative is $500,000
which allowed girls who would otherwise not have access to educational
opportunities to attend school from the primary to university level.

Although the press was intended to be a "watchdog" for the
country, similar to its role in free countries such as the United
Kingdom or the United States, it has had difficulty fulfilling that role
due to the demands of the various competing special interest groups. The
large number of different voices created something of a marketplace of
ideas although some of the ideas resulted in violence.

At the end of the twentieth century Nigeria had more than thirty
national and provincial newspapers. There were more than twenty general
interest magazines and journals in circulation, along with more than
twenty television and radio stations. Just because media fare was
available, that does not necessarily mean the people were reached with
its content. In spite of the relatively large number of newspapers and
magazines nearly one third of men and half the women are illiterate.

One of the country's most respected philosophers, Chinua Achebe,
described the tragedy facing the press by writing "listen to
Nigerian leaders and you will frequently hear the phrase 'this
great country of ours.' Nigeria is not a great country. It is one
of the most disorderly nations in the world. It is one of the most
corrupt, insensitive, inefficient places under the sun. It is dirty,
callous, noisy, ostentatious, dishonest and vulgar. In short it is among
the most unpleasant places on earth" (Hudgens and Trillo 914).

Nigeria is governed under a constitution that was adopted in 1999. It is
largely based on an earlier constitution that was written in 1979. Over
the course of those two decades violence and turmoil has remained
constant. Besides high rates of illiteracy, another one of the many
problems faced by media personnel seeking to serve in a watchdog
capacity is the constant turnover of the government. Cordelia C. Nwagwu
points out that since achieving independence in 1960, Nigeria has
experienced a turnover in the government averaging every 3.5 years.
Nwagwu describes the havoc this has on an integral part of any society
such as the educational system. With the vast majority of the short-term
governments being military regimes the consideration for public approval
was ignored.

There is some indication that some of the earlier restrictions on
freedom, which resulted when the constitution was ignored may ending.
The Times of India
reports that the attorney general declared strict Islamic law
unconstitutional in that it discriminates against Nigerians on the basis
of religion and sex as it applies only to Muslims, and in some cases,
only to women.

In its 2000 annual report the United States Department of State
expressed concern over the constitutional liberties lost due to the
implementation of Sharia law in the northern states of Nigeria. The
report said "although Christians were exempt from the law, the
societal ramifications of expanded Sharia law infringed upon the rights
of non-Muslims in the north to live in society governed by secular
laws." The report went on to add "plans to implement
expanded Sharia laws in Kaduna state, which has a large Christian
population, sparked violence in February 2000 that lasted for several
days and resulted in an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 deaths."

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was elected president of Nigeria in 1999. He had
previously been head of state between 1976 and 79, but voluntarily
resigned and handed the reigns of power over to the democratically
elected Aljaji Shehu Shagari. The web page of the Consulate General of
Nigeria in Atlanta reports that Obasanjo was born in former Western
Nigeria, a part of what is now Ogun State in 1937. He was educated in
military academies in Nigeria, India, the United Kingdom, and the United
States. He reluctantly became the head of state after his military
forces defeated Biafran forces in January 1970. He was an outspoken
critic of military rule during this time in the nation's history.

Not only is the press faced with political instability and uncertainty,
but the infrastructure of the nation is lacking in many basic services
too. The internal infrastructure of Nigeria has not been maintained over
the years. Portions of the government are not fully functional. Due to
political corruption, including bribes and payoffs, oil-rich Nigeria
does not have the basic services available to its citizens that other
nations provide which have fewer natural resources, but are better
managed.

It is interesting to note the career track Nigerian journalists have
taken historically. In the early 1980s John Merrill noted that
newspapers in Nigeria attempted to recruit former broadcast journalists.
This runs counter to the career path in many other countries where
electronic media managers have sought to recruit print journalists.

Economic Framework

Nigeria is a nation of many mineral resources, but the political
uncertainty of the country is such that the assets of the region are not
realized by the population. Oil-rich Nigeria has been held back by years
of political instability, corruption, mismanagement, and lack of
direction. The various military leaders neglected to diversify the
nation's economy and as a result the country has found itself in
a situation of overdependence on the capital-intensive oil sector.
Petroleum products provide about 20 percent of the Gross Domestic
Product.

Agriculture in Nigeria has failed to keep up with the rapid population
growth. At one time in its history, Nigeria exported agricultural
products, now it is an importer. In August 2000, following the signing
of an IMF standby agreement, Nigeria received a debt-restructuring deal
from the Paris Club. Additionally the nation was granted a $1 billion
loan from the IMF. Both the restructuring and the loan were contingent
on economic reforms.

Increases in foreign investment and oil production enhanced economic for
the country for a while. Nigeria remains vulnerable to world oil prices.
This is one factor over which leadership has no control.

Press Laws & Censorship

Adigun A. B. Agbaje explains the reason the press laws of Nigeria are so
difficult to describe is because of the complexity of the ever-changing
society in which they are found. He describes myriad competing
influences on how the press constructs legitimacy for the Nigerian
people. Agbaje describes it as a "battlefield of
representations."

Engaged in this battlefield are such segments of society as the
educational system, the work environment,
popular culture, the mass media, the languages of the various groups,
sports, and other competing forms of entertainment. Agbaje goes on to
describe the problem being exacerbated by the colonial heritage and
non-Africans trying to explain the realities of the nation's
complex social structure.

The lack of enforced freedom of press laws is in part due to the
competing power bases. Various cultural, religious, and tribal groups
continue to be at odds over how the country should be governed. Even
reaching an agreed upon political philosophy is a significant challenge
to the various groups within the country.

This ongoing battle of ideas can be seen throughout Nigeria's
history. For example, in debating a constitutional draft in the late
1970s, then Head of State, General Muhammed said of ideology:

Since the inception of this Administration, and particularly since the
announcement of your appointment as members of the Constitution
Drafting Committee, there has been a lively debate in the Press urging
the introduction of one form of political ideology or another. Past
events have, however, shown that we cannot build a future for this
country on a rigid political ideology. Such an approach would be
unrealistic. The evolution of a doctrinal concept is usually
predicated upon the general acceptance by the people of a national
political, philosophy and, consequently, until all our people, or a
large majority of them, have acknowledged a common ideological
motivation, it would be fruitless to proclaim any particular
philosophy or ideology in our constitution.

In spite of the framework that has been set in place for press freedom,
Nigeria continues to fight to be able to publish opinions freely.

Censorship is a recurring problem in Nigeria regardless of the supposed
freedoms expressed in the constitution. Both during periods of civilian
rule and military dictatorships, the nation has never experienced a
complete assurance of a free press. Government philosophy and documents
may state press freedoms exist, but in the day to day affairs of life
such freedoms fluctuate widely.

Among the newspapers and magazines that have been proscribed are:
Newbreed
in 1977, the
Tribune
in 1984, and
Newswatch
in 1988.

Four years after Nigerian gained independence from Britain, the Nigerian
Federal House of Parliament passed a controversial newspaper law. The
Newspapers (Amendment) Act of 1964 imposed restrictions on the press in
the new nation's early development stage. The act stated:

(a) Any person who authorises for publication, publishes, reproduces
or circulates for sale in a newspaper any statement, rumour or report
knowing or having reason to believe that such statement, rumour or
report is false shall be guilty of an offense and liable on conviction
to a fine of two hundred pounds or to imprisonment for a term of one
year. (b) It shall be no defence to a charge under this section that
he did not know or did not have reason to believe that the statement,
rumour or report was false unless he proves that prior to publication,
he took reasonable measures to verify the accuracy of such statement,
rumour or report.

Nigerian scholar Luke Uka Uche points out the irony of this act, adopted
by the leaders of the nation so soon after gaining independence. He
notes, "if the colonial government had stringently imposed such
sanctions, it would have been very doubtful that Nigerian nationalism
would have seen light of day through the pages of newspapers.
Ironically, we have just seen how Azikiwe, who later became the first
Nigerian President, fought a 1948 newspaper ordinance that merely sought
for the payment of cash as part of a security deposit prior to the
publication of a newspaper."

State-Press Relations

Due to the instability of the various governments over the years the
relationship between the state and the press has fluctuated, depending
upon a number of factors. At times there have been some moderate
consideration given to press freedoms, while other times the crackdown
on journalists disagreeing with the government has been blatant and
violent.

In reviewing the history of the nation, the long-term trend has been
that of the repression of a free press. The constitutional privileges
that are in writing have simply not been experienced in the real world
of daily Nigerian life. On the surface it appears there is much
diversity of expression due to the large number of media outlets in the
nation. However when a closer observation is made, the complex political
and social systems of the nation are the context in which these media
organizations operate and it is discovered that the "societal
watchdog" function of the press does not operate in reality in
Nigeria as it does in more free and open societies.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York based nonprofit,
nonpartisan organization that monitors press freedoms globally, reported
serious reservations about Nigeria's government-press relations
following the election of President Obasanjo. CPJ noted that
"although a new constitution was promulgated on May 5 (1999), it
was modeled largely after the 1979 constitution and offered the media no
specific protection."

About 20 anti-media decrees were identified by CPJ in the revised
Nigeria constitution. One of the measures was repealed, the one that
called for newspapers and magazines to register with the government.
Later it was surreptitiously introduced as the Nigerian Press Council
(Amendment) Decree Number 60 of 1999.

While press attacks decreased significantly after the transition from
military to civilian rule, there remained reported abuses. CPJ reported
that shortly after the election, police raided the editorial offices of
the independent Lagos newspaper,
The News
and arrested several employees. Around the same time, Lanre Arogundade,
chairman of the Lagos Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists
(NUJ), was arrested on charges that seemed to be politically motivated.
Even government owned media employees experienced harassment. Two
reporters for the state-owned newspaper
The Observer
were suspended for publishing statements considered to be critical of
the election process made by international observers.

Attitude toward Foreign Media

Nigerians want to interact with foreign news agencies, but they do not
want to lose control of the way their nation is presented in the global
marketplace of ideas. They generally advocate limited involvement with
foreign media.

The U.S. Department of State warned of Nigeria: "permission is
required to take photographs of government buildings, airports, bridges
or official-looking buildings. these sites are not always clearly
marked, and application of these restrictions is subject to
interpretation. Permission may be obtained from Nigerian security
personnel. Penalties may include confiscation or breaking of the camera,
exposure of the film, a demand for payment of a fine or bribe, or a
roughing-up."

News Agencies

There are no domestic news agencies in Nigeria. Some news bureaus are
maintained by news agencies from other countries in Nigeria. The BBC and
CNN are two Western media organizations that continually monitor
developments in the nation.

Broadcast Media

Due to the volatile nature of Nigerian politics there is no
predictability in the way laws granting free speech will be interpreted
at any given time. Broadcasters are vulnerable in such a climate.
Violence is one component that has never left Nigeria's history
regardless of the persons in the top elected offices.

There were 2 government controlled television broadcast stations in
Nigeria in 1999 and 14 licenses to operate private television stations.
The nation has 82 AM radio stations and 35 FM stations. There are 11
short-wave stations in Nigeria. Throughout the country there are 23.5
million radios and 6.9 million television sets.

In 1992 the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) was founded to
monitor and regulate broadcasting

on a national basis. One goal of the organization is to open up the
industry to the marketplace paradigm. Both foreign and domestic
participation is sought. A total of nine mandates are itemized in the
charter of the NBC.

Additionally, the agency has the role of arbitrator between the industry
and other areas of the government. Education is also a component of the
organization's work. It is charged with ensuring the development
of trained personnel through accredited curricula and programs that
offer courses in mass communication and broadcasting. And the final
mandate is to guarantee the liberty and protection of the broadcasting
industry under the constitution.

Nigeria's president appoints the Board of Commission for the NBC
based on the advice of the Minister of Information. The Commission
consists of a Chairman, the Director-General. Ten other members are also
on the board representing law, business, culture, education, social
science, broadcasting, public affairs, engineering, and state security
service. Members serve on the board on a part-time basis. The
Director-General, who occupies the role of chief executive, conducts
day-to-day oversight. That position is assisted by the Secretary to the
Commission and the Board of Management, which includes the Heads of
Directorate and Departments. On July 26, 1999, Mallam Nasir Danladi Bako
was named the Director-General.

Electronic News Media

Nigerians are active in Internet technology. The Internet country code
for Nigeria is.ng. Eleven Internet Service Providers (ISPs) operate in
the nation. An estimated 100,000 Nigerians are Internet users. Numerous
media

outlets are available on the Internet. These include specialty media,
designed for target audiences to general interest publications.

All
Nigeria.com
is an Internet source for a broader audience. It contains daily news
updates, viewpoints, feature articles and essays on Nigeria, Africa and
the world at large from a Nigerian perspective. Nigeria Infonet is a
site on the Internet that provides a listing of numerous news and media
sources available to anyone interested in either niche or general
interest publications.

An example of international media outlets providing news analysis on
Nigeria's political situation can be found on the websites of
both American and British media outlets. The British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC) and Cable News Network (CNN) both maintain special
websites on events and personalities related to the 1999 election.

Nigeriaworld
is an example of a state of the art newspaper online. Its URL is
www.nigeriaworld.com
. The
Daily Times
is another Nigerian newspaper found online. It serves as a contrast to
Nigeriaworld
in that it lacks both the content and distribution advantages of its
competitor. It is not updated on a consistent basis and it does not have
the stable of writers found in the pages of
Nigeriaworld. Nigeria Daily
is between the other two newspapers in terms of quality. It updates its
web page on a consistent basis, yet it does not have the resources
Nigeriaworld
has to provide content from such a wide number of credentialed sources.

The international nature of news flow on the Internet makes it more
difficult for the government to control content distributed through this
means. Some of the Nigerian newspapers that have daily updated Internet
sites have columnists and editorial writers based in the United States
and Europe. Many of these people have been educated in American and
British institutions of higher learning. A significant number have
graduate degrees.

Education & Training

Nigeria has a long history of interacting with other nations in the
pursuit of education and training. Not only are many Nigerian reporters
educated in the U.S. and the U.K., but seminars by educators from these
countries provide refresher courses for decision makers in Nigerian
media organizations.

The largest academic department for acquiring a degree in media studies
in west Africa is the University of Jos in Nigeria. Over 500 students
are enrolled in the program. Although the title of the department is the
Theatre and Communication Arts Department, there is a heavy emphasis on
mass communication in the curriculum.

A student can study a wide range of media related topics. Both
undergraduate and graduate programs are available. In addition to
journalism courses, students have the option of taking courses in media
management or public relations.

Among the problems encountered in Nigeria's educational systems
were: poor funding, inadequate facilities, admission and certificate
racketeering, personnel problems, examination malpractice, frequent
strikes, lack of discipline, the emergence of secret cults, and a
general abandonment of academic standards. Nwagwu sees the solutions as:
dedicated teachers, adequate facilities, staff and support personnel in
sufficient number, and a democratically elected government.

Summary

Nigeria seems to always be in a state of transition. The constitutional
framework for an open society is in place. Educational systems encourage
the tradition of free speech, as experienced in the U.S. and western
Europe. The freedom of the press will be greatly increased when the many
ethnic and other conflicts raging in Nigeria are able to be resolved.

User Contributions:

It will help to strengthen other establishment in their civic rights and responsibility in terms of publications and it will equally help the Nigerian Citizens to know what right involved in the Nigeria Press and the Laws that governs it.

This will equally give room for Nigeria Citizens not to publish what is not in compromise with the Law governing the Press Media.

Accept the Assurances of my humble regards, best wishes and God Bless you.

It will help to strengthen other establishment in their civic rights and responsibility in terms of publications and it will equally help the Nigerian Citizens to know what right involved in the Nigeria Press and the Laws that governs it.

This will equally give room for Nigeria Citizens not to publish what is not in compromise with the Law governing the Press Media.

Accept the Assurances of my humble regards, best wishes and God Bless you.

A multiplicity of media voices can be found in Nigeria largely because of the diversity of the population of the country and the history preceding its independence. The nation remains unsettled and its constitution is not enforced in all regions equally. This has led to confusion, frustration, and violence resulting in numerous deaths in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Reports of deaths from Islamic fundamentalists are commonplace in media reports particularly in the northern states of Nigeria.

excellent article but the chart does not say much about the nigerian news paper. how many regularly published news papers do we have? wat are the audience like? the life expectancy rate of 56 is intresting, revaling, shocking.

This is a very nice article. I just recommend it for any body that call himself or herself a student and also for graduates as well. This is more important to those studying mass communication and journalism. I must confess, it is a nice work.

im hopin for an article on the inpact of the nigerian press on the formulation of policies and decision making process can u write something on that or direct me to where i can find it but i was able to get an insight on the operations of the nigerian press over the years

my comment about this article is that; this article is giving answers to different individual out there as it as done to me today gladly. It as also brought out what should be known ABOUT NIGERIA PRESS,MEDIA, TV, RADIO NEWSPAPER and other media.
moreover thanks for this great medium of commenting on this ARTICLE it makes a whole lots of sense

i want to know more about press as in i want to take mass communication as my course i university please guide me with some of your effort. i love press " we link the world" tell me more on my yahoo mail

It's quite an incisive media discourse! The Nigerian Media, having gone this far, from a scratchy beginning to a vibrant & more robust, has a new challenge before it-the NEW MEDIA. How many journalist have access to the internet? Poor funding of Press houses, partcularly, government owned media outfits. Absence of training & re-training of personnel leads to poor morale. Lack of modern basic tool...

I'm currently a Post-Graduate student of Mass Communication at the Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. My research led me to this masterpiece! The work summarizes the major problems bedeviling Mass Communication as a course of study, journalism as a profession and the media as an institution in Nigeria. I wish to seize this medium to request the author's permission to quote extensively from this work while recommending it to all stakeholders of journalism. Obviously, changes in happenstances (events) and time demand updating of this writeup the necessary.

The issues being faced in the Nigerian mass media are very well covered in this article. However, i will like to know how this has added to the development of the youth? I mean, if the leaders of tomorrow are the least thought about, how are we sure the country is not heading for the stones instead of a bright star!

This is a well done article, please i want to ask, about the history of Nigeria press, i mean how did press exist in Nigeria, the history of nigeria press. I will be grateful if my request is granted, thank

please, I would like to know if there is a particular body regulating the newspapers, t.v. stations, radio stations in Nigeria? or
If they all have the same regulatory bodies?
What do you mean by saying just two t.v. stations are in Nigeria?

I FEEL NIGERIA IS A GREAT COUNTRY DESPITE THE ISSUES OF CORRUPTION WE STILL STRIVE FOR PERFECTION IN THE ASPECT OF MASS COMMUNCATION AS IT IS SAID "ROME WAS NOT BUILT IN A DAY" ONLY IF SOMEONE COULD DISCOVER THE WASTING POTENCALS IN NIGERIA...WHAT A PI

THIS PIECE OF ARTICLE HAS OPENED TO US CERTAIN MYSTERY BEHIND THE PRESS IN OUR MODERN DAYS.I FEEL FOR THE PRESS TO GAIN TOTAL FREEDOM IN THIS OUR BELOVED COUNTRY, NIGERIA,THE ISSUE OF CORRUPTION AND DIVERSITY HAS TO BE GREATLY TACKCLED,AS THIS FORMS A STUMBLING BLOCK TO THE PRESS OF THE MASSES. ADEEKO BOLUWATIFE, CALEB UNIVERSITY,IMOTA,LAGOS STATE.

This is very nice article I must say, it has taught me many things I never knew concerning the Nigeria press, tv, media and radio. But I will like to know more concerning the newspaper, this is also a must read article for everyone, especially mass communication students in Nigeria.

This article is a very nice one! This will help to make the people of this country understand what the media is facing. This will also be of great help to students, most especially mass communication students. this article has also revealed most of the problems faced by Nigeria and its media.

These article is very nice, because it contains lots of things concerning the media. With an article like this you get to know how far the television, radio and even newspaper media have gone since their inception. These is a must read article for everyone, especially mass communication students.

Its a good article,really want to know the mutual relationship between the nigerian press and Goodluck Jonathan's regime,what has he done to improve the nigerian press and if his relationship with them is a good one.

I was conducting research on the education and health care systems of Cameroon for a weekly I conceived (Voice of the Voiceless), and present every Saturday live on Spectrum Television (Time:3pm). In my attempt to question the education of our girls (who are so versed with the ICTs but lack home training basics on cooking, keeping the environment clean...), I decided to look into neighbouring Nigeria's realities so I could develop my inspiration on the education of the African Child, especially after watching the broadcast (marvelled by the interventions of Nneta OTI, Mike OZEKHOME, Silas ENEYO ... whose ideas reflect the importance of home education in our communities) of the National Conference on AIT early this Morning. Little did I know I will be served such a masterpiece. I call myself a Lightworker and in the process, I have been through thick and thin to have things done for the benefit of the society. This article appeased my broken mind and almost demotivated spirit, with the facts on the evolution of the Media in Nigeria. I salute the intelligence of the writer and may GOD Bless you.